Woods Bagot, the international architectural practice, said its Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) design received the Leaf Award for International Building of the Year and the overall 2009 Leaf Award.
It was the only project from the GCC that was shortlisted and won the award.
The judges were "impressed with the use of materials, the composition and the articulation of cultural and climatic context to produce a building of such size that maintains a human scale", said the company.
Part of Qatar Foundation's Education City, QSTP is a business incubator of technology centres. The building has a floor area of 98,500 square metres.
The QSTP site comprises the Emerging Technology Centre, housing its business incubator, administration and serviced offices for small-to-medium companies, and two flanking Innovation and Technology Transfer Centres where large companies are now installing their R&D centres.
Alf Seeling, Design Director for Woods Bagot in the Middle East, said: "For the Qatar Foundation this development demonstrated to the world a different way of doing things – Qatar wanted to announce a new global benchmark for science parks with an identity that is unique to the country."
Dr Tidu Maini,Executive Chairman at the Qatar Foundation, said: QSTP is unique in what it seeks to do in the Middle East region. We needed a building, which would represent this unique endeavour through an innovative design while keeping up with international best practices. Woods Bagot has created an architectural marvel that symbolises our cornerstone values of innovation, collaboration and sustainability."The approach to the park is dominated by the undulating roof of QSTP and the structure is visible from the centre of Qatar's capital Doha. The significance of this location has been marked by Bagot through the use of a perforated, aluminium 'veil', that runs along the front length of the site.
"Shimmering in the desert sun, the veil is at once functional, providing shade and the basis for the development of microclimatic environments through the careful selection of finishes and softscape areas, and the re-interpretation of the shapes of the surrounding desert and other influences from Qatari culture," said the company in a statement.
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